Embodiments described herein relate generally to the parenteral procurement of bodily-fluid samples, and more particularly to systems and methods for parenterally-procuring bodily-fluid samples with reduced contamination from microbes or other contaminants exterior to the bodily-fluid source that can potentially distort the results of diagnostic testing in a healthcare setting.
Health care practitioners routinely perform various types of microbial as well as other broad diagnostic tests on patients using parenterally-obtained bodily-fluids. As advanced diagnostic technologies evolve and improve, the speed and value of information that can be provided to clinicians continues to improve. As such, ensuring that the bodily-fluid sample to be analyzed is collected in a fashion that maintains specimen integrity similarly ensures that analytical diagnostic results are representative of the in vivo conditions of a patient. Examples of diagnostic technologies that are reliant on high quality, non-contaminated bodily-fluid samples include but are not limited to molecular diagnostics, genetic sequencing (e.g., DNA, RNA), and the like. When biological matter, cells external to the intended source for sample procurement, and/or other external contaminants are inadvertently included in the bodily-fluid sample that is to be analyzed, the opportunity for an adulterated specimen driving a potentially inaccurate patient diagnosis may occur.
In some instances, patient samples (e.g., bodily-fluids) are tested for the presence of one or more potentially undesirable microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, or yeast (e.g., Candida). Microbial testing may include incubating patient samples in one or more sterile and/or non-sterile vessels containing culture media or other types of solutions that are conducive to microbial growth and/or other real-time diagnostics including molecular polymerase chain reaction-based (PCR-based) technologies used to rapidly identify organisms. Generally, when microbes tested for are present in the patient sample, the microbes flourish over time in the culture medium. These organisms may also be identified by other advanced diagnostic testing technologies (e.g., molecular testing/diagnosing, PCR, genetic testing/sequencing, etc.). In the case of employing a culture medium, after an amount of time (e.g., a few hours to several days—which can sometimes be a longer or shorter depending on the diagnostic technology employed), organism growth can be detected by automated, continuous monitoring. For example, in some instances, such automated monitoring can detect carbon dioxide produced by organism growth. The presence of microbes in the culture medium (as indicated by observation of carbon dioxide) and/or via other detection methods suggests the presence of the same microbes in the patient sample which, in turn, suggests the presence of the same microbes in the bodily-fluid of the patient from which the sample was obtained. Accordingly, when microbes are determined to be present in the culture medium (or more generally in the sample used for testing), the patient may be prescribed one or more antibiotics or other treatments specifically designed to treat or otherwise remove the undesired microbes from the patient.
Generally, patient bodily-fluid samples are collected in various settings and are then transported to a laboratory-type environment for processing and analysis. For example, the settings for collecting the patient sample(s) could include an outpatient clinic, a hospital (including emergency department, intensive care unit (ICU), medical/surgical floor, or the like) or a commercial setting (including a drugstore or any other commercial enterprise that assists with collection of bodily-fluid sample(s)). In all settings, typically, protocols are developed, implemented, and monitored to ensure the quality of the collection, handling, preparation, transportation, etc. of a patient's bodily-fluid sample(s). Generally, practitioners ensure the integrity of the patient specimen(s), understanding that if the sample is adulterated and/or contains matter that is not representative of the patient's in vivo condition, a diagnostic error and ensuing inaccurate treatment decision(s) may occur.
In some instances, patient samples, nonetheless, can become contaminated during procurement. For example, some equipment used in phlebotomy procedures can include multiple fluidic interfaces (e.g., patient to needle, peripheral IV to catheter, needle/tubing to sample vessels, etc.) that can each introduce points of potential contamination. Additionally, the equipment used to procure, transfer, transport, and/or otherwise contain a patient sample are typically connected and/or otherwise placed in fluid communication via manual intervention (e.g., a doctor, phlebotomist, nurse, etc. handles and/or manipulates the equipment). Since the interfaces of the equipment are not consistently preassembled and/or sterilized as a single fluidically coupled system, external contaminants (e.g., microbes, dermally-residing organisms, cells from the patient that are not from the intended source of bodily-fluid to be tested, etc.) can be introduced to the patient sample via multiple sources (e.g. ambient air, contaminants on surfaces of tables and/or counters in patient room, microbes transferred from linens or clothing, skin deposited on collection supplies from a healthcare worker during assembly and/or sample procurement or transfer, cells from another source within the patient, and/or the like). In some instances, the contaminants can lead to a positive microbial and/or other diagnostic test result, thereby falsely indicating the presence of such microbes or other cells and/or other biological matter in vivo. Such inaccurate results are a concern when attempting to diagnose or treat a suspected illness or condition. For example, false positive results from microbial tests may result in the patient being unnecessarily subjected to one or more anti-microbial therapies, which may cause serious side effects to the patient including, for example, death, as well as produce an unnecessary burden and expense to the healthcare system.
As such, a need exists for improved systems and methods for disinfection of specimen container(s) that reduce microbial and/or any other type of contamination associated with the collection of bodily-fluid test samples by, for example, disinfecting equipment interfaces to ensure the integrity of the patient sample(s) that are collected and analyzed in the diagnostic process, thereby minimizing and/or substantially eliminating false positive as well as false negative diagnostic results.